Park Board Minutes 2005 10-27-05 I
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE
YORKVILLE PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT BOARD MEETING
Parks & Recreation Administrative offices Riverfront Building
Monday, October 27, 2005
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER:
Meeting was called to order by Chris Rollins at 7 : 00 p.m.
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ROLL CALL:
Chris Rollins, Ken Koch, Van Truman, Heather Fiala, and Tammy Smock
GUESTS/CITY OFFICIALS/STAFF:
Scott Sleezer, Interim Director/Superintendent of Parks
Sue Swithin, Interim Director/Superintendent of Recreation
PUBLIC COMMENTS :
None
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES :
Minutes from the October 10, 2005 board meeting were approved on motion by Heather
Fiala and seconded by Tammy Smock. The motion was unanimously approved.
BILLS REVIEW:
Cash Analysis & Bills List
To clarify, there is a charge for $2,225. 00 from Intermas International Mascot Corp.
which is for making the "Parker Boy" logo into a human mascot.
There was a question about the charge for the reimbursement for sewer operations part-
time and overtime salaries. It was not clear if the Public Works personnel were utilized.
The Board would -like clarification before this is paid.
Ken Koch had questioned the charge for the Fox Valley Park District. Sue Swithin had
responded that it was for the reimbursement for special recreation and that Fox Valley
Special Recreation has received a memo regarding our policy to be followed. (Sue
Swithin realized the following day that this amount is actually for the fee for a new
basketball winter league. The reimbursement for the special recreation was paid in
September:)
Tammy Smock motioned to approve the bills list pending explanation of the two
reimbursements of sewer operations and was seconded by Van Truman. Roll call vote:
Chris Rollins—Yes, Ken Koch—Yes, Van Truman—Yes, Heather Fiala—Yes, and
Tammy Smock—Yes. The motion was unanimously approved.
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OLD BUSINESS :
( � Fox Sill Parking
Scott Sleezer was not sure what actually generated the Fox Hill residents ' proposal, but it
was decided that it was a lot of money to spend for parking when we don't know for sure
how this would be funded since it was not budgeted for. There is currently on street
parking there and the parking is pretty much adequate for the baseball season. The soccer
season is the only time where there is a parking issue. We would, therefore, be spending
a lot of money for just the soccer season for a location we will probably out grow. It
would be a short-term solution. This will be something we will watch closely, however.
We will have to see if we will have other programming space to use to reduce the
dependence on doing soccer in this particular space which would alleviate the parking
problem. For•next meeting Scott Sleezer will look into what space will be available for
next year so that we can inform the Fox Hill Homeowners Association of how we will
handle the situation. -
NEW BUSINESS :
Oak Grove Subdivision Development
Dan Kramer came to present the final plat by requirement of the county under their PUD
ordinance. The final plat mirrors the exact number of lots that were presented about a
year ago (which is 30 lots) . The county prefers clustering. The parcel is very wooded
which maximized the tree area. The county is having them do a path parallel with
Highpoint Road. They have done everything that the county has asked. In addition, to
please their neighbors, they have added an additional two acres for detention as a failsafe.
They are asking for positive recommendation to the City Council as far as the final plat,
and they will give their recommendation to the County. Dan Kramer wanted to know if
Parks and Recreation would be interested in making provisions for their open space for
future use as a possible park site if the subdivision were annexed of the City. The Park
Board was interested in this. Dan Kramer indicated that he could make it so that this j
would not lock Parks and Recreation into having to take the land if the Board decides that j
at a later point they no longer wanted it.
Winded Ridge Unit 3 (Dhuse Property)—Concept Plan
Patti Bernhard presented the. extension to Windett Ridge Subdivision which is currently
under construction. The proposal was for 198 townhouse units with a school and park
site. Approximately 55% of the site is open space. They are not exactly certain at this
point how many acres the school wants, but the park site will back up to the park site of
the Windett Ridge Subdivision that is currently under construction. They were also
wondering if Parks and Recreation would be interested in a portion of the trail system.
Carrie Hansen indicated that there will be 6 acres available for land cash. Dr. Engler has
indicated that he did want the location indicated as a school site which would be a
maximum of 15 acres. Counting the land of both Windett Ridge- developments, there will
be seven acres of land available next to the school site. Chris Rollins indicated that we
were already given the land for the existing Windett Ridge park, so they are not really
giving us more land. They are just readjusting our current park site and giving us a little
more land. Chris Rollins wanted to make sure that if there is land balance from the
school site, they would receive the land that is adjacent to their current p ark to be able to
expand it. He also wanted to make sure that where the trail falls would be subject to
discussion and that they prove to be useful to reduce. the danger for kids to get to school
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and are built to our trail standards . He would not like for the trail to be too close to
people' s homes. Van Truman mentioned that we would probably want the trail to
separate the properties of the school and park.
,Carrie Hansen asked Parks and Recreations that even though they have already been
promised land from one development, would they consider looking at the open space of
the two developments as a whole and be negotiable on the location of the park. The Park
Board's response was that they would prefer to keep it as was previously agreed upon,
but they would be open to discussion if it makes real sense for the school to be relocated.
However, the current site is well positioned to serve the residents and they had chosen
this site for issues of adjacency to expand the total size of the park. Another concern
mentioned by Heather Fiala is that the residents will be upset because we have already
promised a park to them and if the school has not made a decision on their location, it
would not be right to hold up construction.
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Sue Swithin indicated that using a trail to separate the properties of the school and park
should be reconsidered because the school may want to use green space for soccer and
ball fields for physical education classes which could create a shared use for Parks and
Recreation purposes. Chris Rollins indicated that he understands what she is saying, but
that the trail would still give good access to both the park and the school. The trail would
be a divider for practical issues of maintenance and access so that they are addressed
properly.
Mike Schoppe indicated that there is a six and a half acre obligation that needs to be met
for the Windett Ridge Unit 3 . Whatever acreage is left over from the school will be put
towards the park obligation if the location is usable. The trail corridor will need to be
taken into consideration also . The Board decided that they would take no more than three
acres in land and the balance in cash.
Ken Koch asked if there was a list of which school site will be developed first. Mike
Schoppe said that there is, but it is most dependent upon which area develops the quickest
and where the need is. If the need for a school does not develop, the land reverts back to
the developer.
Fox Road Planning Area Park Review
Mike Schoppe filled in the Board on the development activities off Fox Road that are
going on and to get direction on where some p ark sites should be because they are getting
requests from developers for annexation agreement and they need to provide them with
some more specific direction for them to carry on. Harris Woods, Silver Fox, and
Evergreen Farm are actively having discussion with the City on development. The- City
has had a transportation study done to identify where some of the major road networks
will need to be. With that information they have tried to recommend where the park sites
should be in this overall area. Two of the park sites are really fixed. The Sunflower Park
will just get expanded and the Price Park will have the opportunity to be expanded. In
deciding the location of the parks the Board did not want to include areas from adjacent
properties that are not under discussion for development so that they do not have to
depend upon too many contingencies. After some discussion, it was decided that a park
will be located on the southeast corner of the Silver Fox Property providing that the
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proposed road can be moved so that there will be more than a twenty foot buffer. This
way they will be able to expand as the need arises with future development.
Heartland Crossing Concept Plan
Clayton Markes presented the preliminary Heartland Crossing Plan. The property is
approximately 514 acres. There will be approximately 140 acres of open space.
Approximately 65 acres of the open space will be corridors forwalking trails. There is a
future school site and on five acres they will develop a pool and clubhouse. There will be
from 820- 840 lots,
Parks and Recreation informed Clayton Markes that they usually like a 50150 land cash
split on land obligations. There was discussion regarding the trails. Parks and Recreation
usually likes 2 '/Z - 3 acres tot lots and where everyone will be able to . access them. - There
was mention of possibly moving the water detention away from the school site. There
was a mention of a possible public/private programming--this was something to just keep
in mind and was nothing definite. They would need to see what they build to see what
programs could be offered there. Clayton Markes indicated that maybe Parks and
Recreation can give them a wish list for them to take into account.
Request approval for $600. 00 Preschool Shed
The Yorkville Congregational Church, where we have our preschool, is running out of
space for storage. They have allowed us to store things 4in their shed. The church is j
putting up a garage typed shed and asked Parks and Recreation if they would like to
purchase the existing shed for $600. The shed is just a few years old and has a wood
floor. It is 10 feet by 12 feet and is in- good shape. Sue Swithin would like approval to
purchase this shed from the church. Sue Swithin has written a letter to the church
indicating that at any time if Parks would like to move this shed they can. If the church
does not agree to this letter, she will not purchase the shed but-she does not anticipate this j
being a problem. The shed will remain on the church's property, and Parks will maintain
it. The* funds will come out of General Funds. . Van Truman motioned to approve, the
purchase of this shed for the preschool subject to the written agreement that the church
gives the City possession. Heather Fiala seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Chris
Rollins—Yes, Ken Koch—Yes, Van Truman—Yes, Heather Fiala—Yes, and Tammy
Smock—Yes. The motion was unanimously approved.
Request approval for Porter Curtain
Sue Swithin wants to purchase a curtain similar to the curtain that was purchased for the
Beecher Center for Parkview's stage which will allow the Recreation Department to
create another room. Activities will then be able to be both in the gym and the stage. In j
order to use the curtain that is currently at Beecher, we would need to shorten it and it
would cost $3,000-$4,000 to move it. Also, at Beecher the porter is a partial with the top
portion made of mess. At Parkview Sue Swithin would like to purchase a full vin y l one
for approximately $ 10, 000 which will be better for sound. The curtain would become
property of the school once Recreation stopped using Parkside since a porter is so
difficult and costly to move. Sue Swithin can have the porter installed by the end of
November. Chris Rollins felt that a $ 10,000 improvement on property that we don't own
would be difficult to justify if we did not get $ 10,000 worth of value for making that
improvement. Also, he did not feel that this would be exempt from our bid practices.
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The bids taken from the other porter could not be used since this will be a different porter
( being all vinyl. Chris Rollins also feels that we should discuss with the school what
options there are for temporary barriers. If after research the porter becomes the best
option and the porter is bid out to several different providers to get the best possible bid,
he would then feel comfortable with the purchase of it. Ken Koch asked if there was any
leeway in the Harold Oliver agreement for additional funding, but Sue Swithin stated that
he is already cutting back from the original obligation, so there is not much likelihood in
him contributing more. Chris Rollins feels $ 10, 000 is something that we should be
looking to amortize over a fair amount of time instead of just for an immediate need. Sue
Swithin will see if the owners of the foundation would contribute to the purchase and will
get more estimates. She will also talk to Art Prochaska to see if the fiends can come out
of the City' s general fund to make the transition possible. Sue Swithin will bring back
more information to the Board.
REPORTS
Park and Recreation Report
None
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
Prestwick Dirt Stockpiling
Scott Sleezer wanted to keep the Board up-to-date on the Prestwick dirt stockpiling in a
location where a park is to be. Although the park site will not be turned over until 65%
of the development is completed, the intention for that land is for a park. There is a little
bit of argument of when it becomes a park site. They would like to take the clay from the
area that is designated as a park site. We do not want them to use this as a borrow-pit,
however. Chris Rollins feels that this will weigh heavily on when we will accept the
land as a park. We would probably mant a five to ten year guarantee so that we do not
have any sinking playgrounds. _
Cannonball Ridge Park Acceptance Improvement
This has been an ongoing struggle with the developer. The park needs to be in a
condition that the City is willing to accept it and they have not met their obligation. The
area is question is the turf areas outside of the park construction. Scott Sleezer has been
telling them for the last eight months that they need to make this better.
CORRESPONDENCE
Denise Kasper has submitted a letter to start the ball rolling on the hiring of an Executive
Director. Chris Rollins would like to use the previous hiring process used for hiring
Laura Brown. The position has been posted and will run through November 17, 2005 in
IPRA. The Board would like to receive copies of the resumes as they come in. Tammy
Smock would like Scott Sleezer to give Denise Kasper the hiring process that is going to .
be followed. The process is that the Board receives the resumes and reviews them. They
hold the interviews with the candidates that were selected with Art Prochaska
participating in the interview process. After they have selected their candidate it will go
to City Council for approval. The interviews need to be performed on a declared meeting
date, and the Board needs to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing the
hiring of the individuals. The Board will conduct the interviews in that way and then
adjourn the executive session. All questions asked will need to go through the
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employment attorney and City Council. Sue Swithin asked about sitting in on the
interviews . Chris Rollins was okay with this as long as she or Scott Sleezer is not
applying for the position. The Board will put together questions and give the questions
directly to the attorney and work on a format of the interviews.
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Parks and Recreation is moved into the new office and everything is moved out of the
Beecher Center. Everything went very well. The only problem was with SBC in finding
our phone lines. The phone lines may not be hooked up until Wednesday. They have an
answering machine and credit card machine at Beecher until it is all hooked up.
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Saturday night is the Halloween egg hunt at 7 : 00 p.m. Parker' s first public appearance
will be at the egg hunt.
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Alderman Dean Wolfer wanted to thank everyone for pulling together in the move.
ADJOURNMENT :
The meeting adjourned at 9 : 55 p.m. following the motion by Heather Fiala and seconded
by Van Truman. The motion was unanimously approved.
Minute Taker—Jeanne Arbet
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